Good News: GONE FISHING received a starred review from SLJ!

GONE FISHING recently received a starred review from School Library Journal. Here's an excerpt:

"...Teachers will appreciate the seamless introduction to different poetic forms including rhyming lists, concrete poems, ballads, and haiku. Wissinger deftly plies her craft to ensure that the use of poetry enhances the readability of the story. She includes a “Poet’s Tackle Box” to complete this solid introduction to poetic form. Cordell’s whimsical line drawings complement the poetry by capturing the adventurous spirit and humor that this story demands. Hearing it aloud, children will appreciate the rollicking tale and the lyrical verse, while young readers will be able to enjoy the book independently..."

–Carole Phillips, Greenacres Elementary School, Scarsdale, NY

For a look at the full review, you can click on this link - where GONE FISHING is the Pick of the Day today, July 8, 2013. SLJ Pick of the Day: GONE FISHING

07.08.2013

My Summer Book-Related Events!

The next few weeks I have several fun events that I wanted to share with you. If you're in the area where any of these activities are taking place, I welcome you to stop by and say hello!

Best wishes,

Tamera

Saturday, June 22, 2013

BOOK STORE APPEARANCE & READING

TAMERA PRESENTS: GONE FISHING A Novel In Verse

Time & Place:1:30 - 3:30 (Reading at 2:00 PM, Snacks, and Activities)

BOOK WORLD, INC., 217 South 25th St. Suite #C125, Fort Dodge, IA 50501, (515)955-2665   

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

IOWA READING ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE/BOOK SIGNING

 Time & Place: 9:45 A.M & 2:00 P.M. Iowa Reading Association 

Iowa State University, Iowa State Center, Ames, Iowa

Conference Workshop: Engaging Students At Any Level through Stories in Poetry

Book Signing: Tamera will sign books at the Barnes and Noble booth after the morning and afternoon sessions.

Friday, June 28 

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE PANELIST

Time & Place: 11:00 A.M. 720 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60605 (312) 922-4400

CONFERENCE TITLE & LINK: Breaking Out: Veronica Roth and Debut Authors from The Class of 2k13 Discuss Their Upcoming Books

FRIDAY, JUNE 28

BOOK STORE APPEARANCE & READING WITH THE CLASS OF 2K13

Time & Place: 4:00 - 7:00 P.M. The Book Cellar

4736-38 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60625

Tamera will read from GONE FISHING in the 4:00 hour with fellow middle grade debut authors Polly Holyoke, Liesl Shurtliff, and Tara Sullivan.

Monday, July 1, 2013

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BOOK SIGNING: 

Time & Place: 9:00 - 10:00 A.M. McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, Illinois, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt booth (#2501)

AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION POETRY BLAST! READING:

Time & Place 10:00 - 11:30 Pop Top Stage, McCormick Place Convention Center, Chicago, Illinois.

Tamera will participate with a number of other poets for Poetry Blast! and read from GONE FISHING! At 11:30, all of the poets willl be available to sign their books!

Friday & Saturday, July 12-13, 2013

CHILDREN'S ART EXPO: State Fish Art Expo

Sponsored by Wildlife Forever.

Time & Place: 2:00 P.M., July 12, meet Tamera and sign up for her workshop.

9:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. Tamera will conduct nature writing workshops with the State Fish Art Contest Winners.

Go Fish Education Center, 1255 Perry Parkway, Perry, GA 31069

An Interview at The Storyteller’s Inkpot!

HERE IS AN EXCERPT FROM MY INTERVIEW WITH MARSHA QUALEY AT THE STORYTELLER'S INKPOT:

Tam(e)ra Will Wissinger's novel-in-verse Gone Fishing was published this past March by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Tam(e)ra lives, writes, and fishes in Vero Beach, Florida.

Please describe the book in under 50 words.

Gone Fishing is a humorous father-and-son fishing adventure and sibling rivalry middle grade novel in verse for children ages six and up that includes a section of poetry information called “The Poet’s Tackle Box.” 

Would you tell us a bit about the story’s development?

Here is the timeline for developing GONE FISHING:

2007: I wrote one poem called Night Crawlers. It was published in Wee Ones Magazine and would become the first poem in the story.

2008: More fishing poems followed and developed into a short collection. I worked on these “on the side” while I was a student at Hamline.

July 2008: Nikki Grimes visited Hamline and lectured on how she uses a traditional story arc to write her books in poetry. Nikki’s lecture lit a spark in my brain…click here to read the full interview.

Thank you Marsha Qualey, Hamline MFAC Faculty member extraordinaire, for featuring me at The Storyteller’s Inkpot!

06.18.13

THIS OLD BAND Picture Book Update

Great news! My picture book, THIS OLD BAND, has an illustrator and a release date! The illustrator is talented Matt Loveridge and the release date is June 2014 from Sky Pony Press! Here is the Publisher's Marketplace announcement:

"Tamera Will Wissinger and illustrated by Matt Loveridge's THIS OLD BAND, in which a cowboy band counts down from ten to one all day (and night) long in this Western take on a classic children's song, to Julie Matysik at Sky Pony Press, in a nice deal, for publication in Summer 2014 (World).”

I’m really looking forward to seeing the illustrations that Matt develops for THIS OLD BAND. To give you an idea of his style, here’s a link to his website: http://www.mattloveridge.com/ 

I love the joy and whimsy of Matt's art and I'm so excited to see what he develops for my cowboy band. (I've seen one sketch drawing - and I just love where the illustrations are heading!) He’s working on cover art now, and he’ll begin working on the interior illustrations soon. I’ll share more when I can.

06.06.2013

Congratulations & Book Review: BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! by Jamie A. Swenson

I’m delighted to celebrate today’s release of Jamie A. Swenson’s debut picture book BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! It’s the story of a young boy whose cozy night in bed during a storm is disrupted by a variety of frightened visitors. It’s wonderful to be able to hold a copy of this book in my hands, (I picked up my copy at the bookstore this morning!) and I want to wish my dear writing friend, Jamie, a wonderful release day and many good wishes for the success of her book.

REVIEW: BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! by Jamie A. Swenson

▪   Picture Book, 32 pages, Ages: 4-8

▪   Arriving May 28, 2013 from Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

▪   Available wherever books are sold

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! by Jamie A. Swenson gives children a way to navigate the storm, both literally and figuratively.

Thunderstorms can be scary at any age, and in BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!, Jamie A. Swenson takes a look at one young boy’s thoughtful way of helping his friends when they’re afraid of a storm. She handles the fear with a combination of first person matter-of-fact narration, wit, energy, and rhythmic language that introduces a cast of unlikely friends and ultimately puts the storm in its place – all within the constraint of a short picture book text. As a bonus, there is an engaging counting element as the situation in the snug bed escalates from scene to scene. With soft colors and humorous nonverbal cues, the charming illustrations by David Walker offer anticipation and reassurance throughout the story.

On a deeper level, I think this story is really about navigating in the world. Swenson begins; “One stormy night, I jumped into bed. Safe with a book and my bear named Fred.” Even though the storm has already begun, this brave little narrator shows no fear, and not once throughout the text does he flinch from the flash of lightening or crack of thunder that occurs in nearly every scene. As a result, the MC offers young children a strong role model for how they might wish to react in similar circumstances – When all of the others around him are frightened and in need of comfort, this main character is calm and welcoming. (Until finally, not directly related to the storm, he reaches his limit!) What a strong (yet subtle) message for the youngest readers – even when faced with something scary and we might feel afraid, we don’t have to act afraid! Come to think of it: what a powerful message for any age.

Well done, Jamie! Again, Congratulations! I’m so happy that BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! is now on shelves!

Here are links to Jamie online:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

FSG BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Page